Red Topaz

I don't watch a ton of TV, my short attention span usually taps out before I can make it through a season, but I am hooked on IWtV. I read the first book a million years ago and quite liked it, and I've seen the movie several times. This show is not the source material, but it is its own amazing, unique adaptation. It keeps core attributes of the characters and major story beats, while updating timelines and situations, giving everything a fresh take. It might come off a bit like fan fiction, but it's the best kind: smart, thematic, beautiful to look at, and desperately entertaining. Hope they renew for Season 3!

My husband put it best when he said, “The stakes in this are just zero.” Little to no stakes. Rehashed (and rehashed and rehashed) plot beats. Genuinely bad fight choreography. A truly aimless, meandering story. Gaping, lazy plot holes. It’s not great. The actors are doing their best. It’s wonderful to see Christianson and McGregor again. But the writing and directing sabotage good performances at every opportunity. So disappointing. So much wasted potential.